Cross-Border E-Commerce in China: Definition, Features, Development History and Rules

Cross-border e-commerce in China is the online sale of foreign goods to Chinese consumers, shipped from abroad or from a bonded warehouse in China. Up to RMB 5,000 per order and RMB 26,000 per year, no import tariff applies and import VAT and consumption tax fall to 70% of the normal amount. The foreign seller needs no company in China.

Key takeaways

• China defines cross-border retail imports as purchases made by consumers in China from overseas sellers on a cross-border platform, delivered by direct purchase import or by bonded import.
• Only goods on an official list qualify, and they are for the buyer’s personal use: they cannot be resold in China.
• The platform, the payment company and the logistics company send the order, payment and logistics data to customs before clearance.
• The channel keeps growing: the preliminary customs figure for 2025 is RMB 2.75 trillion of cross-border e-commerce imports and exports, 69.7% more than in 2020.
• A foreign brand can sell through a cross-border marketplace or its own store, with payment in RMB and settlement in its own currency.

This guide explains what cross-border e-commerce is, how it developed in China, the rules that apply and the channels open to foreign brands. QPSoftware, founded in 2009, works from Shanghai, and our cross-border e-commerce services for China cover the store, the payment account and the launch.

What Is Cross-Border E-Commerce?

Cross-border e-commerce is the online sale of goods or services to buyers in another country, through a marketplace or the seller’s own store. It takes four common forms:

• B2C: a brand or a retailer sells to consumers.
• B2B: businesses such as brands, factories and wholesalers buy from and sell to each other.
• C2C: individuals sell to other individuals.
• D2C: a brand sells directly to its consumers, without a distributor.

In China, the term also has a legal meaning for retail imports. A 2018 notice of the Ministry of Commerce and five other departments defines cross-border e-commerce retail import as the purchase of goods from abroad by consumers in China, through a cross-border e-commerce platform. The goods enter China in one of two ways: online bonded import (customs code 1210), from a bonded warehouse in China, or direct purchase import (customs code 9610), shipped from abroad.

What Are the Features of Cross-Border E-Commerce in China?

Retail imports follow their own rules, which set them apart from ordinary imports:

• An official list of goods. Only products on the Cross-border E-commerce Retail Import Commodity List can use the channel. Eight departments, including the Ministry of Finance and the General Administration of Customs, adjusted its 2019 edition with effect from March 1, 2022.
• Personal use only. Goods bought this way are the consumer’s own and cannot be resold on the Chinese market.
• Buyer limits and a lower tax. Since January 1, 2019, each buyer can import up to RMB 5,000 per transaction and RMB 26,000 per year, under a notice of the Ministry of Finance, the General Administration of Customs and the State Taxation Administration. Within those limits, the import tariff is zero, and import VAT and consumption tax are collected at 70% of the amount normally due, a rule in place since April 2016.
• Data checked by customs. Before clearance, the platform, the payment company and the logistics company send the order, payment and logistics data to customs, which compares the three.
• Supervised as personal items. Retail imports do not need the first-import licenses, registrations or filings that some products require. The exceptions are goods from areas under an epidemic import ban, and goods under emergency measures after a major quality or safety risk.
• A local agent and a registered platform. The overseas seller appoints a company registered in China, which registers with customs, declares truthfully and shares civil liability. The seller remains responsible for product information, returns, recalls and compensation.

How Has Cross-Border E-Commerce Developed in China?

According to a 2021 research blog of the Institute of Chinese Studies, cross-border e-commerce in China began in 1998, when a few foreign trading companies started to sell online. Alibaba.com followed in 1999, as a B2B portal between Chinese factories and overseas companies. Daigou, Chinese nationals living abroad who resell foreign products to buyers in China, appeared in the mid-2000s and long filled the demand gap, selling through platforms such as Taobao and WeChat. The market took off from 2013, as smartphones spread.

The rules then took shape, step by step:

Date	Milestone
April 8, 2016	A tax regime for cross-border retail imports takes effect: zero tariff and 70% of import VAT and consumption tax, within RMB 2,000 per transaction and RMB 20,000 per year.
August 31, 2018	The Standing Committee of the National People’s Congress adopts the E-commerce Law, in force since January 1, 2019.
January 1, 2019	Buyer limits rise to RMB 5,000 and RMB 26,000, and the retail import pilot covers 37 cities.
March 2021	The pilot extends to every city with a free trade pilot zone, a cross-border e-commerce comprehensive pilot zone, a comprehensive bonded zone, an import trade promotion and innovation demonstration zone or a type B bonded logistics center.
2021	Cross-border e-commerce imports and exports reach RMB 1.92 trillion, up 18.6%.
March 1, 2022	The list of goods allowed in the channel is adjusted.
November 2022	33 new comprehensive pilot zones bring the total to 165, covering all 31 provinces.
2024	Cross-border e-commerce imports and exports reach RMB 2.63 trillion, up 10.8%.
April 2025	The State Council creates zones for the whole of Hainan and 15 more cities, and revokes those of Haikou, Sanya and Alashankou.
January 14, 2026	Customs announces a preliminary figure of RMB 2.75 trillion for 2025.

How Big Is the Cross-Border E-Commerce Market in China?

China’s customs statistics count cross-border e-commerce imports and exports together. At a State Council press conference on January 14, 2026, the General Administration of Customs gave a preliminary total of RMB 2.75 trillion for 2025, 69.7% more than in 2020. The official figure for 2024 was RMB 2.63 trillion, up 10.8%.

For brands that sell to Chinese consumers, imports are the part that matters. In a market note published in 2022, the US International Trade Administration put China’s cross-border e-commerce imports at USD 88.2 billion in 2020, up 16.5% on 2019. The same note reported that over 68% of Chinese consumers consider foreign goods better quality, especially in fashion and beauty, the largest segment of these imports.

Which Channels Can Foreign Brands Use?

The 2022 note of the US International Trade Administration names the main cross-border channels: Tmall Global and Kaola, JD Worldwide, Vipshop, Suning Global and Little Red Book (Xiaohongshu). At the time, the first three made up over 80% of cross-border e-commerce traffic, while Little Red Book and Suning Global had earned trust in specific categories: cosmetics, fashion, luxury goods and household appliances.

A brand has three main options:

Channel	Examples	What to check first
Cross-border marketplace	Tmall Global, JD Worldwide, Vipshop	Each platform sets its own entry requirements, fees and rules
Content platform with shopping	Little Red Book (Xiaohongshu)	Posts and reviews by users drive the sales
Your own cross-border store	A website or a WeChat Mini Program	You choose the payment, logistics and customs partners

A marketplace brings its shoppers but keeps the customer relationship on its platform. Your own store needs its own traffic, and the design, the promotions and the customer data stay with you.

What Rules Apply to Cross-Border E-Commerce in China?

Article 26 of the E-commerce Law requires cross-border sellers to comply with China’s import and export rules. For retail imports, the notices described above set the list of goods, the buyer limits, the tax and the duties of each party. Two points deserve attention:

• Above the limits. A single indivisible item worth more than RMB 5,000 can still use the channel if it fits within the buyer’s yearly limit, but it pays the full tariff, import VAT and consumption tax. Purchases beyond the yearly limit are taxed in full, as general trade.
• No resale. A consumer who buys through the channel cannot sell the goods again in China, so the channel cannot stock a shop.

Our article on China’s cross-border e-commerce rules details the tax, the list of goods and the obligations of sellers, platforms and service providers.

How Does Customs Clearance Work for Cross-Border Orders?

General Administration of Customs Announcement No. 194 of 2018 and the notices above organize clearance in six steps:

1. Registration. The platform is registered in China and with customs. The overseas seller appoints a company registered in China, which registers with its local customs.
2. Listing. Only goods on the official list are offered. The seller and the platform show buyers a risk notice: the products may differ from Chinese standards, may have no Chinese label, and are for personal use only.
3. Order. The platform checks that the transaction is real and verifies the identity of the buyer.
4. Data. Before the import declaration, the platform, the seller’s agent, the payment company and the logistics company each send their transaction, payment and logistics data to customs, through the International Trade Single Window or a cross-border e-commerce clearance platform.
5. Tax and release. Customs compares the data and releases the goods. The tax is collected by the e-commerce company, the platform or the logistics company, acting as withholding agent.
6. Delivery. A domestic carrier delivers the parcel, from a bonded warehouse in China for bonded import, or after its arrival from abroad for direct purchase import.

A product outside the list, a purchase beyond the buyer’s yearly limit, or data that do not match cannot clear through the channel. Your store therefore has to exchange data with its platform, payment and logistics partners from the first order: our team handles this third-party integration (ERP, CRM, logistics).

How Do You Sell Cross-Border Through WeChat?

WeChat lets a foreign brand sell inside the app that Chinese consumers use every day, without a company in China. The brand opens a WeChat Official Account, adds a store or a Mini Program, and connects a cross-border payment service: the buyer pays in RMB with WeChat Pay, and the merchant is settled in a foreign currency.

Start by learning how to set up a WeChat Official Account as an overseas business. For the store, read how to open and run a WeChat store, then choose between WeChat store development and WeChat Mini Program development. Our guide to selling cross-border on WeChat covers logistics, tax and payment in detail.

What QPSoftware Built for Ma France

Ma France is a B2C platform that offers products made in France by French SMEs to Chinese consumers. It already published content on a WeChat Official Account when QPSoftware developed its WeChat Mini Program store. We connected the Mini Program to the GoAllPay platform, so that payments made with the WeChat wallet are transferred directly to Ma France’s bank account in France, and added automatic currency conversion to the store. Read the Ma France case study.

What Should You Do Next?

Start with three checks: are your products on the list of goods allowed for cross-border retail import, which channel fits your brand, and how will Chinese buyers pay? If you are unsure whether you need a local company at all, read our answer on selling in China without a Chinese company.

QPSoftware helps brands sell to China without a Chinese entity. Your customers pay in RMB with WeChat Pay or Alipay, and you are settled in your own currency, in your bank account outside China. We build the store, handle WeChat Pay and Alipay integration, connect your logistics partners and launch.

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